Story Of Eastern Wonderland was never one of my favorite Touhou soundtracks. It's still pretty good and has some of my favorite tracks in the franchise, but it's weaker tracks can feel a bit basic compared to the complexity that HRtP's music often had.
Record Of The Sealing Of An Oriental Dream - Pure Land Mandala
Another typically intense PC-98 title theme, ROTSOAOD (what a long name) is definitely one of the better ones in my opinion. The main melody resembles that of Oriental Dark Flight from PoFV which makes sense since this is Marisa's debut, and that slow bit near the end is absolutely brilliant.
5/5 Stars
Hakurei - Eastern Wind
It's hard not to feel like Eastern Wind is a bit of a poor man's Maiden's Capriccio, but it works just as well as a first stage theme. I really like the slow build-up it has because the super propulsive and energetic verse.
4/5 Stars
She's In A Temper
Yeah, it definitely sounds like it. Rika's first theme is fittingly frantic and chaotic, with a pretty great hook and a strong chorus. My only gripe with it is that it's too short, almost as if it's missing one extra section.
4/5 Stars
End Of Daylight
In terms of its composition, End Of Daylight isn't super memorable. What makes this song is its atmospheric and tone, the FM bird chirping, that long drawn-out intro, that dramatic chorus. That's the stuff I remember End Of Daylight for.
4/5 Stars
Power Of Darkness
Power Of Darkness has a strong and dramatic central melody and some truly inventive instrumentation, at least in the Akyuu version. However, the song sticks with that one (really good) melody for its entirety which can get a bit repetitive after too long.
4/5 Stars
World Of Empty Dreams
This is probably the most depressing Touhou song in the entire series, or at least it's up there with The Lost Emotion. That slow solemn intro, that operatic transition into the verse, the wailing chorus, it all adds up to a super powerful and emotional piece of music.
5/5 Stars
Bet On Death
Like with the last two, this boss theme is both short and repetitive, and while the melody is energetic and propulsive, it's not quite as strong as the ones in She's In A Temper and Power Of Darkness to make up for that.
3/5 Stars
Himorogi, Burn In Violet
I always remember Himorogi, Burn In Violet for being a pretty blatant copy of Final Fantasy VI's Decisive Battle, because it kind of is. That's by no means a bad thing since Decisive Battle is one of my favorite Final Fantasy themes, but it does kind of overshadow the fact that its entirely original chorus is equally fantastic. It's so fast-paced and exciting, and it just keeps getting faster and faster.
5/5 Stars
Love-Colored Magic
While it lacks the sheer intensity and drive that Imperishable Night's version would have, Love-Colored Magic is still easily Marisa's finest theme. It perfectly captures the character with its blend of fun and gravitas, and the chorus is downright iconic.
5/5 Stars
A Phantom's Boisterous Dance
Yeah, I'm sorry, this one just kinda hurts my ears. The PC-98 synth does not do this one any favors, which is a shame because I do really like the weird time signature and how well it fits the song's name. It's just not the most pleasant to listen to.
2/5 Stars
Complete Darkness
Meanwhile, Complete Darkness feels like a song that could only exist on the PC-98. This is easily one of my favorite songs in the franchise, it's so fast-paced, intense, dramatic, climactic, exciting, and oddly arcadey. The chiptune usage just gives Complete Darkness so much extra energy. The dramatic intro is amazing, the propulsive verse is exciting, and that chorus is phenomenal. If you told me you wanted Mima back solely for a remix of this song, I'd totally understand. It's that good.
5/5 Stars
Extra Love
For the first extra stage theme, Extra Love is pretty good. It has enough energy and gravitas to give it a climactic feel, only bolstered by the Eastern Wind motif being used in the chorus.
4/5 Stars
The Tank Girl's Dream
While not one of my favorite extra boss themes out there, The Tank Girl's Dream is definitely Rika's best theme. The verse captures that same frantic feeling that She's In A Temper did, while the chorus brings in Extra Love for a dark reprise, even if it drags on a bit.
4/5 Stars
Forest Of Tohno
From what I can tell, Forest Of Tohno is generally regarded as one of if not the best ending theme in the series and yeah, I can see it. Despite just being a short slow-paced remix of The Tank Girl's Dream, it's so calming and easy to listen to that it just works.
5/5 Stars
Legendary Wonderland
Legendary Wonderland has a bit of a build-up to it, but man, that chorus is just amazing. It's fast-paced, catchy, and very earworm-y. That chorus alone makes this one of the better ending themes in the series.
4/5 Stars
Bonus: Hakurei Shrine Grounds
Do I think Hakurei Shrine Grounds would've worked better as a first stage theme than Eastern Wind? No. The intro is too long and the usage of the World Of Empty Dreams motif feels a bit too downbeat. Is it still an amazing theme on its own though? Oh, hell yeah. All that stuff I mentioned may not work for a first stage theme, but they still make for a great song, and that burst of energy once the verse starts is great.
4/5 Stars
Bonus: Sunfall
Where I still think Hakurei Shrine Grounds is a great song even if it wasn't fitting, Sunfall really isn't anything special. The driving backing track is good, but the melody isn't super memorable and it lacks a lot of the atmospheric flourishes that End Of Daylight had.
2/5 Stars
Bonus: Sealed Demon's Finale
Sealed Demon's Finale would've been an alright staff roll theme, but I'm glad we got Legendary Wonderland instead. This theme has a great main melody, but once again, the song sticks with that melody for its entirety and it gets a bit repetitive.
3/5 Stars
Story Of Eastern Wonderland doesn't have too many new characters to talk about due to its shortened length and its final and extra bosses being reused from either this game or the previous one, but I do have a bit to say about the ones it does have.
Genjii
Reimu needing to ride on a turtle is definitely a choice and really makes this game stick out in a weird way. I don't think Genjii is all that interesting as a character, but I do like the fact that he serves as a straight man for what seems to be a fairly novice Reimu.
3/5 Stars
Rika
Touhou characters like Nitori and Rikako who are more scientifically inclined despite being from a recreation of rural Japan are always pretty memorable, and Rika is especially memorable since she specializes in tanks. She's also the only boss to be both a first boss and an extra boss, which I find to be absolutely hilarious.
4/5 Stars
Meira
While we still don't know too much about her, I always found Meira to be the more memorable PC-98 samurai, mostly because she actually gets some dialogue in, and it just so happens to be the most iconic dialogue in the game. Reimu trying to marry Meira will never not be one of the funniest exchanges in a Touhou game. But even aside from that, a more serious Reimu lookalike who wants her powers for herself could've been a really interesting concept if ZUN had done anything with it.
4/5 Stars
Five Magic Stones
And I thought YugenMagen was bad! These don't even have eyes! They're just rocks! Though I do like how they're canonically the only boss to scare Reimu. How do they do it?
1/5 Stars
Marisa Kirisame
Reimu is an amazing character, but ZUN struck gold with Marisa. Unlike Reimu, what you see is what you get with Marisa. Her simplistic witch design and personality only add to her charm. Marisa is just so lovable, grounded, and charismatic no matter what situation you put her in. Being a human, she's also pretty much entirely self-made, which puts her in a neat underdog position a lot of the time.
5/5 Stars
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